Program Overview

BA Sociology with integrated Foundation Year, at Aberystwyth University, will train you to develop a critical awareness of and engagement with the social world. By studying this course, you will develop a thorough grounding in the conceptual and theoretical approaches that have been employed by sociologists to study the world around us. You will also develop your ability to analyse social phenomena through training in the collection, analysis and presentation of sociological data.

The integrated foundation year - designed for prospective students who do not have a sufficient or relevant academic background - is the perfect option to access this highly-sort scheme. In the Foundation Year, you will learn about key concepts for Sociology from an inter-disciplinary angle, giving you a unique experience and critical perspective to make the most of the full undergraduate degree.

Some of the distinctive aspects of Aberystwyth’s approach to Sociology include:

• Emphasising the value and significance of a field-based approach to Sociology, with field exercises being integrated into lecture modules, and a dedicated Field-Based Sociology module in year 2
• Integrating more applied perspectives into the teaching that we undertake on key themes and concepts in Sociology to demonstrate its real-world significance (and, in doing so, help with the employability of our Sociology graduates)
• Drawing on our research strengths and to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge theoretical and empirical understandings of the social world.

A degree in BA Sociology at Aberystwyth will allow you to:

• Be able to critically evaluate ideas, concepts and approaches across the whole of the subject and within particular branches of Sociology
• Be able to carry out independent research, applying a range of skills in relation to data collection, analysis and presentation; have developed a range of skills and be able to apply them to a variety of Sociological issues
• Be able to recognize that your learning experience has been positively reinforced by exposure to research
• Be able to evaluate your own performance in a range of learning contexts and under different modes of assessment
• Be able to work independently, in a team and with a social awareness of the contribution made by scholarship and applied research in their discipline to social policy
• Have the necessary skills and awareness to seek employment in a variety of professional careers or to begin postgraduate research and study.